Release date 29th July 2009
Released by Lil’ Chief Records

“Concept album” – it does not quite describe the inner journey demanded by this allorgorically arranged series of suburbanesque but emotionally connected songs that reek of extremely heavy duty talent from the stable of one of Auckland Music’s more enigmatic, Pie Warmer is Cole Goodley, Jason Smith, Edmund Pie and Tamasin Taylor produced by Ed Cake and it is a work of significant music, and a significant work of art.

From the onset there is a distinct sense that transgression is ready to pull at the threads of the absurd. This album’s agitation may be the source of its excitement. Perfectly overlaid and occasional samplings are effective gestures that add clarity to an at times messy inner ambiguity.

Here is one of those CDs where each track is a diversion from some central place, there are no straight paths and yet it musically fits with its own shrieks of insolvability, a collage of disconnectiveness is held together by referential tissue. It is a facade, but a well constructed facade with all manner of secret panels.

The album opens up with a sort of paranoid pot-pouri of sounds that develop a sense of unease over an infectious pop lyric. Next, a clawing old blues voice implores his love for everything. Before He Passed Away is buoyant Beatle-esque pop. God Help Me Aunt Daisy is a sort of disco/rap that sounds like it going to get radio play. This frantic striving to survive suburbia winds up in Crappy Street. The Motorway meanders but I Broke The Rules is the energizer bunny this album needs at this point, and the vocals on Never Mention Eyes maybe deserve a Loxene award.

The album is a relaunch for one of the best experimental New Zealand artists you will hear – Ed Cake. The album’s great strength is in the extraordinarily rich mix of sounds Cake manages, the first half of the CD is certainly very charming and alarmingly entertaining while the entire package serves nicely as a “concept album”, if we are still making them.

Cake is definitely serving something tasty with Pie Warmer.

August 8 – Pie Warmer previewed on National Radio